For Louis and Ibe, you are both my inspiration.
For Mum, for starting me on the reading journey.
First published in Great Britain in 2014 by Egmont UK Limited
The Yellow Building, 1 Nicholas Road
London, W11 4AN
Text copyright © 2014 Alison David
The moral rights of the author have been asserted
First e-book edition 2014
ISBN 978 1 4052 7154 7
eISBN: 978 1 7803 1703 8
A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
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Our story began over a century ago, when seventeen-year-old Egmont Harald Petersen found a coin in the street. He was on his way to buy a flyswatter, a small hand-operated printing machine that he then set up in his tiny apartment.
The coin brought him such good luck that today Egmont has offices in over 30 countries around the world. And that lucky coin is still kept at the company’s head offices in Denmark.
CONTENTS
Chapter 1: Screen time: finding a balance
Chapter 2: Pre-school: ages 0–4
Chapter 3: Starting school: ages 5–7
Chapter 4: Choosing to read: ages 8–11
Chapter 5: Staying connected: ages 12–16
EXPERT VIEW
Children who read for pleasure are not only better at English but are also better at maths. Children who read for pleasure make more progress over time. Reading for pleasure brings a wider vocabulary and enables the child to take on new concepts.
Dr Alice Sullivan, Institute of Education
I believe reading for pleasure is one of the greatest gifts a parent can give their child. It is a gift of love that will stay with them throughout their life. I am passionate about encouraging children to read for enjoyment. This is a book for parents who also want that for their child.
Everyone knows that reading is the foundation of learning and education, but what is less well known is that if a child reads for pleasure it is the single biggest indicator of their likely future success – much more than parents’ educational background or social status (see here). It’s also an amazing way for a mother or father to bond with their child. The magic of story and the shared experience of reading together in the early years will stay with you throughout their childhood and beyond.
I have learned a lot about helping children love reading through being a mum and through my work. Louis, my son, is now a teenager and we have, in the course of his life so far, read hundreds of books together. I can honestly say that reading to and with him is one of the most joyful and pleasurable things we do together. I have seen Louis blossom, grow and flourish through the power of reading. I have spent a lot of time encouraging him – as well as my nephew and niece and the children of friends – to read.
I work for Egmont, a children’s book and magazine publishing company, and my job involves researching and interviewing children and their parents to understand what encourages and what hinders reading. I want to know why and how children’s reading thrives in some families, despite the myriad distractions of life, and why in some families it struggles. I also work with schools, seeking out teachers’ opinions on how reading for pleasure can be encouraged at home and at school. I regularly go into a primary school both for my job and as a volunteer to listen to the children reading. From every viewpoint I see both the magic that reading for pleasure brings, and the huge gap left if children don’t experience it.
So my reasons for writing this book are to share what I know about helping children to love reading for pleasure and to explain why it is so important that they do.
Before I explore some of the fundamentals of childhood reading, I have some questions for you to think about.
• Do you consciously make sure there is some quiet time and that you have a routine for your child to read for pleasure?
• Do you regularly read to and with your child?
• Are all sorts of books and other reading materials, such as magazines, easily accessible and visible at home?
• Do you have rules limiting the amount of screen time your child can have?
• Does your child see you read for pleasure and do you make a point of having time away from screens?
If you answered no to any of these, read on! (And don’t worry, you are not alone.)
How the book works
There is advice from the early years all the way through to the teens, so whatever age your child is when you come to this book you can find plenty of help and ideas. But to encourage a love of reading, the earlier you start the better. It allows the maximum time for your child to grow up with reading and for the love of it to take root and become part of their life.
Although the chapters are divided into age groups, they